The Dublin pirate scene was alive and well in the summer of 1986. Radio Nova had closed suddenly in March, to be replaced by Energy 103. Other super-pirates Sunshine Radio and Q102 took advantage of the change to consolidate their positions in the crowded market. Smaller stations continued to chug along serving their own niche audiences or communities while pirates from nearby counties could be heard easily in the capital, particularly on AM.
This airchecked recording captures some of the variety to be heard in Dublin that summer and includes excerpts from KISS FM (Dublin 1), Capitol Radio, Radio Dublin, Q102, Sunshine 101, Energy 103, Bray Local Broadcasting (BLB), Community Radio Fingal (CRF) and Boyneside Radio. It was made on 19th June 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
KISS FM advert in The Sunday World in 1986 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Countless Irish pirates were called KISS FM in the 1980s and 1990s, including a station based in Foley Street in Dublin’s north inner city for about 18 months in 1985 and 1986. This KISS FM had its origins in Dublin Community Radio, set up in 1984 in nearby North Frederick Street. The new station was owned by two German businessmen and was managed by Dublin pirate stalwart David Baker. KISS FM aimed for high production standards and carved out its own corner in the competitive Dublin radio market, going through a number of format changes during its short time on air. On 3rd October 1986, KISS FM was the first Irish pirate to be raided in several years as a result of complaints due to interference and it closed down shortly afterwards.
One highlight of KISS FM’s time on air was its charity campaign on behalf of the Irish Society for Autistic Children over St. Patrick’s weekend 1986, which culminated in a disco dance marathon in the North Star Hotel around the corner from the station. This recording gives a sense of the lead-up to the charity weekend with David Baker doing live link-ups from the streets of Dublin in an attempt to drum up support for the charity fundraiser. Audio quality on the links is poor to fair at best and it sounds as if the first generation of mobile phone technology was used (Telecom Éireann had established the Eircell network the previous December). An interesting aspect of the recording is the re-cut of an ARD ident from the late 1970s, itself based on a jingle from KACY 1520 in California. KISS FM’s AM frequency at the time was 1116 kHz, announced as 273 metres.
Foley Street today – KISS FM was in a building right of the tree, long since demolished (photo by John Walsh)
Other voices include DJ Gareth Scully and newsreaders Rachel Walsh and Maurice Nevin (RIP). Rachel Walsh, whose real name is Fionnuala Sweeney, went on to other larger pirates and eventually a career in RTÉ and CNN. Another feature of note is the occasional jingle or insert from other pirates including Radio Nova, which was on the verge of closing down. This fact is mentioned in one of the KISS FM news bulletins, which regrets the departure of Nova from the Dublin radio scene.
This airchecked recording tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection and was made on Tuesday 11th and Friday 14th March 1986. No frequency is noted but presumably the tape was recorded from 104.1 FM. KISS FM also broadcast on 94.8 FM and on AM.
Feature on Tony Dixon from the 1985 Sunshine Review (courtesy DX Archive).
Tony Dixon (RIP) was one of the popular DJs on Sunshine Radio, a large and successful pirate that broke the mould in Irish local radio when it came on the air in September 1980. In this short recording from the station’s early days, he is heard on a Sunday night programme that includes the tagline ‘Dance Radio – Sunshine 539’, highlighting the station’s emphasis on that genre of music after its launch. There’s also mention of Tamango’s nightclub that advertised heavily on Sunshine and was based next door at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock. The tape ends with the iconic Desiderata that closed down Sunshine every night, followed by the station’s theme song ‘You are my sunshine’. Tony Dixon went on to have a career on licensed radio but died prematurely in 2010.
The airchecked recording was made from between 2000 and 2100 on 12th January 1981 from 531 kHz AM, announced as 539 metres, and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection.
1988 KTOK studio shot with owner Russ Padmore in the blue shirt (courtesy Andy Carter).
KTOK was a successful commercial station broadcasting from Donegal Town between summer 1987 and the end of 1988. This recording features airchecks of various programmes between Christmas 1987 and February 1988. First up is Dave James, formerly of offshore station Radio Caroline, recorded between 1400 and 1800 on 27th December 1987. Frequencies mentioned are 103 and 96 FM and 1566 kHz AM. There are plenty of requests, promos for Christmas holiday events and gigs, the ‘gosh factor’ trivia segment and a television guide. The KTOK Cinderella Christmas Pantomine is mentioned but is unfortunately edited out of the recording, as are most of the adverts for local businesses. News on the hour with John Breslin is similarly cut, but the DJ is heard reading the headlines at half-past the hour.
At 17 minutes, the recording switches to airchecks of the Dave James show from 8th February 1988 between 1000-1300. 99 FM is heavily promoted as the new transmitter for North Donegal, with 96 FM serving South Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. There is no mention of the AM transmitter as it may have been discontinued at this time.
At 58 minutes, station founder Russ Padmore is heard from 18th February 1988 between 1500-1800. Local gigs and discos are promoted and news on the hour is read in English and Irish but edited out. The inclusion of Irish may have been as much due to impending broadcast legislation as the fact that many parts of Donegal are Irish-speaking. Music is mostly pop but includes some oldies and country, reflect the huge popularity of the latter in rural areas of Ireland.
It is unclear which FM frequency the recording was made from. It is from the Anoraks Irish Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Boyneside studio from c.1983 (courtesy Declan Smith).
This recording features excerpts from two shows on Boyneside Radio from Co. Louth in the summer of 1984. Boyneside was 6 years on the air at this stage and had grown into one of the largest regional radio stations in Ireland, with its main studios in Drogheda. The tape begins with an aircheck of Declan McGowan’s Saturday night show between 2000-2130 on 11th August 1984. Requests are heard from both sides of the border along with plenty of adverts and a few clunky chopped-up jingles. Declan began presenting on Boyneside in 1982 when he was just 15 and he remained with the station until it closed at the end of 1988.
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
This is followed by an aircheck of Daire Nelson’s breakfast show from 0745-0930 on Monday 13th August 1984. Some of the comments are a bit off by today’s standards but the recording also underlines Daire’s real talent as a broadcaster. News is read by Shane Harrison, who went off to work for BBC Northern Ireland. The tape was recorded from 98.1 FM by Kieran Murray and is part of the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection. Audio quality is generally very good but there is a buzz at the start, which may have been due to an issue with the recording device.
